Chapter 68 (1/2)

“My lady, the young master from the house of Sinnlos has sent you another gift,” Retter said as he stood in front of an oak door.

“Again? Didn’t I tell him to leave me alone?” Tafel’s voice came from behind the door.

“He’s very obstinate, my lady,” Retter said. “I’m afraid he’ll keep pestering you until you give him a chance.”

Tafel sighed as she got dressed. She observed herself in the mirror and adjusted her hair before nodding to herself. “Can I execute him?” she asked as she strapped her sword to her back.

“I-I’m just a sentry, my lady,” Retter said. “It would be better to ask your mother that question.”

Tafel opened the door and stepped out as Retter moved aside. “You’ve been in employment since my father was the demon lord,” she said as she looked at him. “Surely you must have some opinion on the matter.”

“As a sentry, my opinion should not hold any weight in the upper echelons,” Retter said as sweat rolled down his back. “But if my lady insists on knowing, I think you shouldn’t execute him. The Sinnlos family is a major backer of the capital. They contributed a lot to the reconstruction of the city after the zombie incident.”

Tafel sighed. “Fine,” she said. “Tell him that he has to get three things before he can meet with me: the tooth of an infant dragon, the fart of a unicorn, and the hairs from the eyebrows of a phoenix.”

“Understood,” Retter said as he nodded his head. “The tooth of an infant dragon, the fart of a unicorn, and the hairs from the eyebrows of a phoenix.” Retter’s brow creased. “Do phoenixes even have eyebrows?”

“No,” Tafel said as she stretched her arms above her head. “I need a vacation from all this demon lord work. Tell my mom to substitute in for me. Thanks.” Her horns glowed silver and she disappeared from the hall.

“But it’s only your third day…,” Retter mumbled as he scratched his head. He shrugged and proceeded towards Mina’s living chambers.

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Lindyss rubbed her temples as she sat next to Grimmy on top of a cliff. There was still no news on the location of the fairies even with the skeletons and bats searching in full force.

“Just relax,” Grimmy said as he yawned and flapped his wings. “We can handle anything Stella throws at us.” The Awe-Inspiring White Flame, Little Miss Floofykins squealed as she was displaced and slid off Grimmy’s back.

Lindyss sighed and leaned back onto her arms. She frowned as she sensed a vortex of magic forming behind her. “Didn’t I tell Exzenter not to follow me?” she asked as she lobbed a small fireball behind her shoulder.

Her eyes narrowed and she tilted her head as the fireball shot back towards her, almost burning her hair. She turned her head around. “Sorry,” she said to the ten-horned demon. “I thought you were someone else.”

Tafel lowered her sword. “Hi, Auntie,” Tafel said.

“Tafel?” Lindyss asked as she raised an eyebrow. “You’ve grown.” A blue blur darted past Lindyss and ran towards Tafel.

Tafel’s body flickered and she held Floofykins by one of her hind legs. “This is…,” Tafel said as Floofykins snarled and snapped at her arm.

“Vur’s granddaughter, The Awe-Inspiring White Flame, Little Miss Floofykins,” Lindyss said. “Her mother’s a phoenix.”

Tafel flipped Floofykins onto her back and tickled her belly. “Let me guess,” she said. “Vur named her.”

Lindyss’ lips quirked upwards. “It was that obvious, huh?”

Tafel nodded as Floofykins squealed in protest. For a while, only Floofykins made any sounds.

“You’re not going to ask about him?” Lindyss asked, leaning against Grimmy’s belly.

Tafel bit her lip. “Should I?” she replied as she tossed the protesting Floofykins up and down. “He never contacted me this whole time.”

“He was comatose for ten years,” Lindyss said as she observed Tafel’s face. “He woke up three months ago and wanted to look for you, but I persuaded him not to.”

Tafel knit her eyebrows and frowned. “Then I guess I can’t be too angry at him,” Tafel said after a while and sighed. “Is he alright?”

Lindyss nodded and caught Floofykins as she flew into her arms. “He was really miserable about the whole ‘almost killing you’ incident,” she said as she preened Floofykins wings, “most likely still is. I sent him to the human kingdom to vent a bit.”

“Is that fine?” Tafel asked as she raised an eyebrow.

“He’ll be alright.”

“I meant for the humans.”

“Oh. Probably. If there’s an incident, I can always play the ‘you stole a dragon’s baby’ card,” Lindyss said and smiled. “Are you going to go look for him?”

Tafel shrugged and scratched her head. “I’m not sure what I would say if I met him,” she said.